The Sentinel: Viewpoint

Guest Commentary |
Riding the stock market roller coaster; don't jump

Now is not the time to faint or jump from the roller coaster. Who knows how the market will perform over the next few weeks.

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

You never undo your seat belt or jump from a moving roller coaster. Nor, should you when it comes to our current Stock market.

Eight years ago, if you bought a share of VOO or Vanguard S & P 500 ETF stock, you may have paid about $220 for the share. Today, as of this writing it’s worth $490.55. In other words, even with the fall of the stock market recently you have made good money on your investment. A couple of weeks back it was up to $560 which means you were flying high on your profit. Still yet, you have done well.

If you bought your share of VOO two weeks ago at $560 then you have lost $70, at least for now. You may lose some more but you have to hold tight. Don’t panic and sell now or you will have a loss. Ride it out and give the market time to settle down and rise again. If you have to cash in your stock then cash in while they are high.

Now may be a good time to buy but keep in mind the market may go down some more.

Don’t invest your grocery money in stock. This is the money you need every week for food, shelter, travel and overhead. This is not the money you spend on stock. If you do, then in two weeks you will have to sell your stock to eat and risk losing some of the money you invested. Only invest in stock what you don’t currently need for general living expenses.

Who knows how the market will perform over the next few weeks. It’s going to be a few weeks or months before the tariffs really shape up as to what is really what. The reports are that numerous countries are coming to the table interested in making deals and playing fair with the United States. This will be good for us and them. As these deals stabilize look for the stock market to become more stable once again. If Japan, India, South Korea, Canada and Mexico all level the playing field with the United States our stock market will level out. If there are more reports of industry manufacturing coming to the United States the stock market will begin to rise again.

Now may be a good time to buy but keep in mind the market may go down some more. If you bought VIG two weeks ago then you’ve already seen a significant drop. Keep in mind you only lose it if you sell it when the stock is down. I feel confident that the stock market will come back bigger and bolder than ever but it may take a few months or longer.

The stock market has averaged making about ten percent over the last fifty years. This means it has had years when it made more and years when it made less. An average of ten percent is about the best you can do on your money over the long haul.

Now is not the time to faint or jump from the roller coaster. Rely on your stable income such as Social Security, or any other stable income you may have. If you have a regular paying job you may want to stay with it a little while longer if you can and if you enjoy your work.

About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Commentary |
Are they paid protesters? So what?

by Cab Ivanovich

An astonishing number of Trump supporters took the dangling video bait and swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

After last weekend's Hands Off! protests across the country, TikTok creator @redsaidblue posted a satirical video, sprinkled with subtle digs at popular MAGA stereotypes, in which she claimed to be attending the protest as a paid participant. In the video, she described what she could and couldn’t wear, who her point of contact was, and that she would receive a bonus for bringing a sign.

"I got paid $100 for going to the protest, and I got an extra $10 for bringing the sign," she confesses to viewers in character as a Trump supporter going over to the other side to make a few bucks. "Overall, it was a pretty good experience. The people were pretty nice."

A MAGA supporter on X (formerly Twitter) with over 200,000 followers, "@TheEXECUTlONER_", posted the performance to his account and encouraged other Trump supporters to share it. The buffoonery sailed by unchecked by rational thought or rudimentary critical thinking.

There were 1,400 Hands Off! demonstrations across the country on Saturday. The majority drew well over 1,000 participants. Conservatively, someone or some entity would have spent around $140 million (before signs). The kicker: an estimated 3 million people took part in the nationwide protests. If all the marchers were punching the proverbial clock, someone would have spent $300 million—which might have been a boon to the economy after the stock market experienced its steepest plunge since COVID, during Trump’s first term.

While @redsaidblue wasn’t actually paid to protest—it's not clear if she even attended one—the blue-check MAGA user is making bank. As of this story, the video had been shared by 24,000 other accounts on the social media platform. While the young woman wasn’t actually paid for the protest, the account that posted her video is cleaning up, having collected 47,000 likes and over 3,000 comments so far.

Meanwhile, the creator began receiving negative backlash from liberals for posting the video, which she eventually took down. She is now attempting to remove copies from the internet. Supporters from the left were enraged, claiming her video added fuel to the political fire by implying extreme right conservatives aren’t smart enough to recognize when they’re being punked.

confessions of a paid protester

@redsaidblue
SATIRE - regrettable.
♬ original sound - Red Said

It appears her critics were right. The video—or screenshots with text excerpts from it—is circulating on conservative social media channels as supposed proof that liberal protesters are social justice mercenaries, reinforcing the narrative that liberals only protest against the Trump administration because they are paid.

Redsaidblue posted a follow-up video to her TikTok account yesterday, apologizing to fellow liberals for harming their movement.

"I truly thought it was so obvious that it was a joke. I thought that if anyone did take it seriously, if they shared it with someone else, the next person would be like, "Bro, that's satire".

Do paid protesters actually exist? They don't, according to an article from USA Today.

"Time after time, claims of "paid protesters" have been debunked, sometimes by the very people who made them in the first place," according to an article by John R. Roby.

Leo Gertner wrote a piece for The Washington Post entitled, "So what if protesters are paid?"

Gertner wrote, "So the next time someone tries to discredit a movement by insinuating that some of the people on the ground are being compensated, ask the all-important question: So what?"

What's the old saying? Freedom isn't free.

Op-Ed |
Congress is taking from the poor and giving to the rich

Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get housing at that wage. Do you then spend all your money on rent and skip nutritious meals for your family?

by Jocelyn Smith
OtherWords

I know how it feels to be hungry and homeless.

That’s why after work, I drive around town and pick up leftover food from restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and special events. My fellow volunteers and I set up in a big parking lot in our downtown to make this food available to anyone who shows up — no questions asked.

And it’s why other volunteers and I also work to find empty housing units that have fallen into disrepair because the landlords can’t afford the upkeep. We raise money and give them grants so they can bring the units up to code for use as low-income housing rentals.

I’m proud to do this work. But it’s no substitute for fair, living wages and a reliable public safety net. The minimum wage where I live is $12 — well below the $21 per hour the National Low Income Housing Coalition has calculated is necessary to afford a market rate two-bedroom rental locally.

Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get housing at that wage. Do you then spend all your money on rent and skip nutritious meals for your family? Or do you skip health care and medication? If you have a paycheck and a roof over your head, you might not qualify for food assistance, even if you don’t make enough to make ends meet.

foodbank photo — Foodbanks play a crucial role in addressing hunger and ensuring that vulnerable populations have access to nutritious food when they are unable to afford or access enough food on their own.

I work, volunteer, take care of my child, and I’m fortunate enough to have housing. But I still need to rely on SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as “food stamps” — for my family.

My daughter has epilepsy, and thankfully I was able to get her onto Social Security Disability Insurance. However, she needs not only costly medication but also frequent neurological supervision and a device that helps to stop her seizures. There’s no neurologist in our town who can treat her, so we have to travel and lodge hours away for it.

when we need help, the bar for our income shouldn’t be so low that we must be nearly destitute, without any savings or emergency cushion, to qualify.

The expense is enormous, and that’s not even getting into expensive medications for my own heart problems and autoimmune disorders. Thankfully, we qualify for Medicaid. Otherwise, treatment would be out of reach.

But what does it say about our policy priorities when we need to say, “I’m disabled, taking care of my disabled daughter, I work, and I help feed my community, and yet I need assistance affording meals for my family?” These are the realities that a good society plans for so we can all thrive, no matter what obstacles life throws our way.

The programs our tax dollars pay for so families like mine can get help when we need it must be more robust. Programs like SSDI shouldn’t be so inaccessible. Food, housing, and health care shouldn’t be so expensive — and wages shouldn’t be so low that these basic necessities are unaffordable.

And when we need help, the bar for our income shouldn’t be so low that we must be nearly destitute, without any savings or emergency cushion, to qualify.

Is Congress working on any of this? Unfortunately, no. Instead, they’re doing the opposite right now.

In fact, the GOP budget proposal would slash $880 billion from Medicaid and $230 billion from food assistance. They’re also cutting government agencies that assist with affordable housing, transportation, safety, veterans, and children with disabilities.

Why? Because they need to find at least $4.5 trillion to give even more tax cuts to the wealthiest and largest corporations. They are reaching into my very shallow pockets, into my daughter’s life-saving medical care, and into the mouths of those who come to my food table in that parking lot.

They’re stealing from us to give to the rich, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty that keeps people homeless and hungry.

I don’t think that’s fair. Do you? We all deserve better.

Jocelyn Smith lives in Roswell, New Mexico. She works at a local talk radio station, runs a local Food not Bombs chapter, and volunteers at Rehab to Rental, helping to increase affordable housing options. This op-ed was produced in partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies and the Working Class Storyteller and distributed by OtherWords.org.

Commentary |
Clicks, Cash & Consequences: The Cost of social media fame

I once read, "If you’re getting a free product, then you are the product." That line stuck with me.

by Rashmi Rekha Das

Facebook launched its Creator Program in November 2017 with the goal of competing with platforms like YouTube and Twitch by supporting video creators with tools, insights, and monetization options. Through this program, creators can earn money based on their content’s engagement, with payments deposited directly into their accounts.

To get started, a creator must either create a Facebook Page or switch their profile to professional mode. Success hinges on consistency, quality content, audience interaction, and effective use of Facebook’s tools. Facebook issues weekly challenges, and creators must complete them to qualify for rewards.

Guest Commentary |
Go have a good day

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

A Catholic Priest, A Jewish Rabbi and a Baptist minister were discussing the beginning of life.

The Priest said, “Life begins at conception. The Rabbi said he believe at birth. The Baptist minister thought for a minute and said, “I believe life begins when the last child leaves home and the dog dies.”

While there are different opinions about when life begins, what is the answer to the question, “When does life end?” Most of us would agree when we breath our last breath is when it’s over for us. However, too often the ending of life is even more grim than us fighting for a breath of air and then we are nothing but a body of flesh and bone for some else to dispose.

Too often life for many ends months or maybe even years before our final physical moment. Actually, possibly it has already happened to you and you haven’t even realized that you are already dead. You died and you didn’t even know it. You’ve been starring at your television, scrolling through social media and maybe even walking around the aisle of the grocery store just as dead as old King Tut, but not physically, just mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

It happens to the best of people. You lose all interest in life. You have nothing that you look forward to. There is nothing you particularly want to do. No place you really want to go and nobody you want to be around. You’re dying, because you’ve given up.

There are several scenarios that can bring us to this motionless zombie stage of life. Losing a spouse, losing a job, losing a child, a business failure, financial failure, a major sickness or just outliving all your family and your friends. Too often people detach themselves from everyone or anything going on which limits their activity and interest even more.

No doubt crippling disease changers our personalities and our interests. Battling cancer, diabetes, a neurological disease or take your pick of many more, changes our attitude about wanting to be out and about and doing what we use to do. Going to church, the local Kiwanis

Meeting, or singing in the community choir may not have the same appeal.

Regardless of what you or a loved one has going on it’s well to take notice of this stage of life and not be too hard on your friend or yourself. Here is what you must try:

1. Keep moving. Move whatever you can. Even if you are wheel chair bound, move your mind and whatever part of your body that you can move.

2. Keep doing. Do something. Read, pray, exercise, go to church, walk. Clean your house. Work a job, mentor people. Be a friend to others. Use your imagination.

3. Keep trying. As long as you can breathe, don’t quit.

4. Have something to look forward to. This can be anything. Someone’s birthday. A trip to the store. Moving the yard. A family gathering. A weekend trip, a movie, church, it can be most anything.

5. Enjoy whatever you do. Laugh and have a good time.

The only person who can keep you down is yourself. Your number one obstacle is usually yourself. If we can overcome what we mentally put ourselves through then we have a good chance of a good day. A good thought to add here, is the scripture, “If God be for us who can be against us?” Romans 8:21 Another one is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Now, go and have a good day!

About the author ~

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Commentary |
Basic human needs are not fair fame for billionaire tax cuts

It’s clear that this nation’s safety net has to be stronger so that people like me don’t fall through the cracks.

by Marisa Pesce

OtherWords

Tens of millions of Americans rely on the public assistance programs — like Medicaid, SNAP, housing aid, and more — that Republican leaders are now threatening to gut.

I’m one of them.

My dream is to regain the financial independence I once enjoyed before life and systemic obstacles got in the way. I come from a family with a history of mental illness and domestic abuse, and I’ve suffered through mental health challenges myself.

I’ve always worked hard. After high school, I earned a college degree and found the calling of being a teacher. I earned and paid for my Master’s degree while teaching full time as a high school math teacher. I still struggled with challenges, but life was good. The system had worked. I had a home and was financially independent.

I’ve had to rely on someone who participated in the domestic violence against me to help with rent.

Then, I was the victim of a major, life changing domestic violence event, and my life started to unwind. I had to relocate to another state where I didn’t have a place to call home, my benefits were less, and my mental illness was exacerbated by the isolation and trauma.

Despite the challenges I faced, I was able to find some needed assistance for food and mental health care as I got on my feet.

Also known as “food stamps,” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was a godsend for helping me put food on the table. Throughout my life both Medicaid and Medicare have helped with mental health treatment, and the Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) program helped keep me out of poverty.

These are precisely the circumstances for which temporary assistance for basic needs like food, housing, and health care exists. But affordable housing was unavailable in my new home state, and SNAP benefits were much lower — even as my food needs stayed the same.

So my debts increased, and I’ve had to rely on someone who participated in the domestic violence against me to help with rent. I have a little income from SSDI, and I volunteer to stay engaged in my calling to teach and help others while I fight to recover from losing my home and my ability to keep up financially.

It’s clear that this nation’s safety net has to be stronger so that people like me don’t fall through the cracks. But House Republicans are currently trying to cut food assistance and other benefits, not strengthen them.

I just want to eat, get better, and afford safe housing so I can get back on my feet, back to financial independence, and back to doing all I can to help my community.

I need more help putting food on the table. But they’re proposing cuts to drastically reduce federal funding for SNAP, expand already harsh working requirements, and change how our need for healthy food is calculated, which is likely to slash benefits. And they’re doing it all to finance $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest.

I just want to eat, get better, and afford safe housing so I can get back on my feet, back to financial independence, and back to doing all I can to help my community. Yet I and millions like me are nothing but pawns in a political game that aims to hurt us and help those who already have wealth.

When I was teaching, I taught my students about fairness and equality — about what it means to live in a society where we look out for each other, where no one is left to be ill, unhoused, and hungry. I think some politicians need to go back to school, because they seem to have forgotten lessons like these.

So it’s our job to school them. We must let them know that basic human needs are not fair game for getting money for tax cuts for billionaires. Instead, our priorities should be healthy and safe communities for all.

About the author:
Marisa Pesce is a teacher, human rights consultant, anti-poverty advocate, and volunteer with RESULTS from Providence, Rhode Island. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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Commentary |
When climate disasters hit, who should flip the bill?

Some states are landing on a straightforward answer: fossil fuel companies.

Tornado damaged police car

Photo: PEXELS

by Sonali Kolhatkar

OtherWords

Rebuilding from California’s recent wildfires will cost more than a quarter of a trillion dollars — an unprecedented amount. The estimated damage from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast is almost as much, on the order of $250 billion.

Who will pay for that damage? It’s a question plaguing localities around the country as climate change makes these disasters increasingly common.

Some states are landing on a straightforward answer: fossil fuel companies.

The idea is inspired by the “superfunds” used to clean up industrial accidents and toxic waste. The Superfund program goes back to 1980, when Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The law fined polluters to finance the clean up of toxic spills.

Thanks to the hard work of groups such as the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont recently became the first state to establish a climate superfund in May 2024.

It’s an idea whose time has come, especially now that states are less able to rely on the federal government.

Months later, New York followed suit, again in response to pressure from environmental groups. Both bills require oil and gas companies to pay billions into a fund designated for climate-related cleanup and rebuilding.

Now California is considering a similar law in the wake of its disastrous wildfires. Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey may take up the idea as well.

It’s an idea whose time has come, especially now that states are less able to rely on the federal government. The Trump administration is disabling government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with major cuts and putting conditions on other aid.

At the recent Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference, Trump aide Ric Grenell unabashedly endorsed “squeezing” California’s federal funds unless they “get rid of the California Coastal Commission.” (Trump apparently hates the commission, the Fresno Bee explains, because it prevents “wealthy people from turning public beaches into private enclaves.”)

Fossil fuel companies — the lead perpetrators of climate disasters — spent more than $450 million to elect their favored candidates, including Trump. In return, Trump has promised to speed up oil and gas permits and stacked his cabinet with oil-friendly executives.

Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill to clean up the destruction wrought by this industry, one of the most profitable the world has ever known? As a spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “corporate polluters should pay for the wreckage caused by the climate crisis — not every day New Yorkers.”

To be fair, a climate superfund is a “downstream” solution to the climate crisis.

Not surprisingly, 22 Republican-led states disagree. They’ve sued to block New York’s law and protect oil and gas profits at the expense of ordinary people. They have no answer for the question of who pays for recovery from climate disasters or helps people reeling from one disaster after another.

Fossil fuel companies can think of paying into a climate superfund as the cost of doing business. If they’re in the business of extracting and selling a fuel that destroys the planet, it’s only fair they pay to clean up the damage.

And the public agrees. Data For Progress found more than 80 percent of voters support holding fossil fuel companies responsible for the impact of carbon emissions.

To be fair, a climate superfund is a “downstream” solution to the climate crisis, one that seeks to raise the costs to perpetrators. A climate superfund can pay to rebuild homes, but it cannot replace priceless family heirlooms or undo the trauma of surviving a disaster. Most of all, it cannot bring back lives lost. It is only one tool in a multi-pronged tool box to end the climate crisis.

Upstream solutions centering the prevention of climate change — that is, reducing carbon emissions at their source — must be at the center of our fight if humanity is to survive. But in the meantime, fossil fuel polluters should pay.

About the author:
Sonali Kolhatkar is the host of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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